Considering the arithmetic in both the Houses, the outcome of the Vice-Presidential election was foretold. The goal for the Opposition was thus to ensure that its candidate, Justice B. Sudershan Reddy, managed to reduce the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance’s nominee C.P. Radhakrishnan’s victory margin.
Despite best efforts, chinks in Opposition unity were exposed, with calculations indicating that the NDA got at least 13 votes more than its strength in the two Houses. The NDA and MPs aligned to the government put together stood at 439, Mr. Radhakrishnan got 452 votes.
C.P. Radhakrishnan: affable organisation man who doesn’t play political games
Despite the fact that there was no whip in the Vice-Presidential polls, the Opposition managed to get all its members to cast their ballot. Underscoring the importance of the elections, two Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha members – Sudip Bandhopadhyay and Saugata Roy – came to vote despite being ill. MPs who were abroad, such as Congress’s Lok Sabha members Imran Masood who was in Medina, Saudi Arabia, and Ve. Vaithilingam, who was in the U.S., and Rajya Sabha MP Imran Pratapgarhi, who was in Australia, returned in time to vote.
The Congress had appointed 10 coordinators to track down each MP and ensure 100% attendance. By 2 p.m., the majority of the Opposition members had voted. Frantic calls were made to the few remaining who had not turned up till then, including newly elected Rajya Sabha member Kamal Hasan. Many regular absentees such as Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh made a rare appearance.
